On Feb. 26, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) finalized removal of protections for the lesser prairie chicken under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), putting into effect a ruling made in a U.S. district court in Texas in August 2025.

Developing replacement heifers is one of the most expensive and complex management decisions for a cow-calf producer and also has long-term implications for profitability.

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in dairy herds in Idaho, New Mexico (two cases) and Ohio this week.

On March 25, the USDA released that unpasteurized, clinical samples of milk from sick cattle collected from two dairy farms in Kansas and one in Texas, as well as an oropharyngeal swab from another dairy in Texas, have tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).

Every environment has unique opportunities to succeed and overcome production issues. These include feed costs, environmental stressors, health challenges unique to geographical areas and local or regional economic climate. Operational resiliency relies on our ability to address challenges.

While training takes many forms and varies greatly from one dairy to the next, two common goals among producers are to increase employee engagement and to grow employee skill sets.